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Sunday, March 29, 2009

Visiting with Kim

As I mentioned in the previous, this past Saturday I went to the Sharing House from 8:30 am- 4:00 pm. After learning about their sad story, I then separated from my friends who were heading back home while I was on my way into the heart of Seoul to meet up with Kimberly Grojean! What a small world huh! (Explanation for those who are scratching their head: Jen is my best friend. Kimberly who I will now refer to as Kim as it is easier to write, is Jen's younger sister. I emphasize younger because as long as I have been friends with Jen, which is about 10 years now, Kim was always that little sister. She wasn't the annoying type or the nagging type, but she was completely out of our peer group. It is funny how when we are children our peer groups extend only as far as one or two years and nothing more, however as adults (*shudder**I still don't really like the sound of that word adult) three years is nothing. We find ourselves equals, not "my older sister's friend" or "that little sister" but friends. So anyways, Kim is teaching English in Japan and decided on a whim to come and visit her neighbors- the Koreans.

An hour and a half by subway, I found myself amidst a sea of black hair and thousands of cell phones being used for one of the following: playing games, watching television, texting, taking pictures of oneself similar to how one might use a mirror or just stroking it like a pet. Ok, so Koreans don't actually stroke their cell phones, but it is definitely an extension of their arm. I think babies in Korea might be born with cell phones attached to the umbilical cord. But in all seriousness, children in Korea often have cell phones. Just so you have an idea, I will tell you a little side story. Saturday programs are a little different than our normal weekday camp. During the week, we have sixth graders from one to two schools from the surrounding area come to stay at the school for English fun. However, on two Saturdays a month, we open the fun to all ages. So this past Saturday program, I taught first and second graders. We were going around the circle telling our names, and one of the little girls who was so adorable I wanted to spread icing on her and eat her up said that her name was Hayoon. I asked if that was her Korean name or English name and she assured me that it was her English name. To prove it, however, she pulled out her purple cell phone from her little purple purse, opened a text message that read "Hayoon, don't worry, be happy. I love you." all in English. I asked if that was from her mommy and she said "No, my daddy." How adorable is that, and also strange that a little first grader has a cell phone and is receiving text messages from her parents. My mom can't even read a text message let alone send one.

But the odd thing about this trip was how foreign I suddenly felt amongst so many Koreans. Generally, I travel in groups and generally it is to areas in Seoul where there are plenty of other foreigners, but on my subway and in the paths following my exiting of the subway station, there was but one other foreigner. For the first time since I have been here, I felt like I stood out, and that people were staring at me. In my interviewing process, I was warned that all eyes would be upon me any time I opened my front door, but as Korea is changing, I felt less conspicuous than I expected in the beginning. Korea is now seeing an influx of foreigners; nearly 1 million expats are making their home, even if it is a temporary home, Korea. However, this Saturday, I felt foreign. I felt out of place like a sapphire among rubies. The reassuring thing about Korea is however, how safe this country is, so although I felt alone and like a stranger in a strange land, I did not feel unsafe.

On my way to the hostel, I stopped to buy some strawberries! I can't tell you how excited I was to find a box for $3.50! In our supermarket recently, strawberries have been $12! Who pays $12 for a regular size box of strawberries that wont last more than a couple of days? That would be like paying nearly $1 a strawberry. I nearly broke out dancing the jitterbug when I saw the delectably ripe and succulent red strawberries for THAT price! My mouth is still watering just thinking about how delicious each bite was, and even more lush especially considering all of the money I was saving!

I followed the directions, which were surprisingly good all the way to the hostel and stepped inside. A sign above says to take your shoes off at the door, and I stood there for a while trying to decide what I should do? I see about thirty other pairs of shoes on the shelf and surrounding the shelf, but I was torn as to whether I should try and check in and find Kimberly or take my shoes off first or after, but then I hear, "Vanessa?" and there she is. It's strange to see your friends from back home on the other side of the world. The last time I had seen her was in her father's living room and there we were in Korea. Kimberly had another friend whom she had met in Japan arrive at the hostel nearly at the same time. After settingly in, we decided dinner was our next step. I suggested that we ask at the front desk because locals often have some of the best suggestions. He asked what we wanted to eat, "Chicken" was Kim's answer and he said, "I know just the place. Follow me." And out the door he went. As we were following him, I thought how kind he was to take us to the restaurant guarenteeing that we didn't get lost, but once we arrived, he ordered a table for four and sat down to dine with us. We loved it! And, it is always so much better going to a Korean restuarant with Koreans since they know what to order. Even when there is English on the menu, I still most of the time have no idea what I am actually ordering.As we left the restuarants, droplets falling from the blackened sky slowly began to dot our faces and clothing. By the end of the evening, my cloth shoes were completly soaked and my feet had turned into purple prunes from being cocooned in wet socks and shoes the entire evening. The next morning, before our day began, I went shoe shopping as they had still yet to dry by morning and walking around in wet shoes for an entire day was not an option.Our day was spent shopping in Insadong, the traditional shopping area in Seoul. Getting there was an interesting feat however. At one point, we stopped in the subway station to assess our location and whether we had gotten off at the correct stop. We saw and information sign and looked around for an information guide only to find a large map instead of a person. We stood around for a few minutes obviously looking lost and confused because once we looked up, we realized we were surrounded by a gang of old men. Around ten grey haired, hat, loafer and high-waisted pants wearing old geezers had padded over to our lost threesome. Our theory was that there was an old man recreation gang in the subway station with activities such as gawking at the stone faced Koreans running from subway to subway and surrounding blond haired foreigners who look lost rather than feed pigeons in a park on Sunday. It was sweet really. These crusty old men, had come to give us advice but spoke no English, and we spoke no Korean. The more they tried to explain, the more old men would gather until I was sure this was a bonefide dying men subway club.

The tea house where we drank our very expensive tea.

Insadong was great fun. Shopping is almost always fun when you have money to spend. And one of the most interesting things that we did was to go to a tea house called the Flying Bird tea house that had actual birds flying around inside. The tea was WAY over priced- $6 for a cup, but the atmosphere was lovely and amazingly, I saw no poop. Can you train birds not to poop when they feel the urge? All in all, Kim's visit was tons of fun! I guess now I will have to visit Japan! Oh darn!

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Welcome

Thank you for visiting our blog. Originally, this blog started as a template for my (Vanessa) thoughts. Over time, it has evolved to be a travel memoir and a general journal for our( my husband and my) life together. Kyle and I have been married for nearly 4 years now, but have been together, forever, since December 2000. We are so lucky to have found true love, and thank God everyday for our many blessings. We are from Texas but have been transported across the world to teach English in Korea for an indefinite amount of time. The culture of Korea is interesting and different and always provides great writing material. If you would like to follow us on this wild and crazy ride, please subscribe above. Once again thank you, and we would love to hear from you!

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"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass; it's about learning to dance in the rain."

“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost" JRR Tolkien

This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave. ~ Elmer Davis

"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools." Martin Luther King jr.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. -Confucius

We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, but rather we are Spiritual Beings having a human experience - anonymous

Imagination is more important than knowledge, for whilst knowledge points to all there is, imagination points to all there could be. Albert Einstein

"Risk more than others think is safe. Care more than others think is wise. Dream more than others think is practical. Expect more than others think is possible. " ~ Cadet Maxim

The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions ~ Oliver Wendell

The cavity which suffering carves into our souls will one day also be the receptacle of joy.Neil A. Maxwell

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness."- MLK

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. -- Maya Angelou

No Difference / Shel Silverstein

Small as a peanut Big as a giant,

We're all the same size

When we turn off the light.

Red black or orange,

Yellow or white

We all look the same

When we turn off the light.

So maybe the way

To make everything right

Is for God to just reach out

And turn off the light!

To the dull mind all nature is leaden. To the illumined mind the whole world burns and sparkles with light.- Ralph Waldo Emerson

“If the only tool we have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail." Abraham Maslow"The world suffers a lot, not because of the violence of bad people, but because of the silence of good people." Napoleon

“You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming.” Pablo Neruda

"The world doesn't come to the clever folks; it comes to the stubborn, obstinate, one idea at a time people".Mary Roberts Rinehart

More quotes

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. - Marianne Williamson

"I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we too, will be remembered not for our victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit."-President John F. Kennedy

"Listen to the MUSTN'T, child,

Listen to the DON'Ts

Listen to the SHOULDN'Ts

The IMPOSSIBLES,

the WON'Ts

Listen to the NEVER HAVEs

Then listen close to me--

Anything can happen, child,

ANYTHING can be."

Shel Silverstein

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.Marie Curie

“You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming.” (Pablo Neruda)

Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where, I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I don’t know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close. ~Pablo Neruda

Hope is like a bird that senses the dawn and carefully starts to sing while it is still dark. - Anonymous

If we all did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves. Thomas Edison

Mind is consciousness which has put on limitations. You are originally unlimited and perfect. Later you take on limitations and become the mind. - Sri Ramana Maharsh

Happiness is to be found along the way, not at the end of the road, for then the journey is over and it is too late. Today, this hour, this minute is the day, the hour, the minute for each of us to sense the fact that life is good, with all of its trials and troubles, and perhaps more interesting because of them.- Robert R. Updegraff